D.C. Journal.

Edgar Milks Some Of His Favorite Topics

July 02, 1995|By Michael Kilian, Washington Bureau.

WASHINGTON — Illinois' voice in Congress was increased by one last week when Gov. Jim Edgar flew in for a day to speak on three issues: control over Medicaid money, the civilian takeover of the Joliet Arsenal property and the survival of Amtrak on Illinois rails.

He also found time to drink some skim milk and do a little closed-door politicking with his favorite GOP presidential contender, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.).

Edgar testified before the Senate Finance Committee to plead for state control over federal Medicaid money, saying state and local officials are in a much better position to deal with soaring local health costs than "some bureaucrat a thousand miles away."

He said local authorities also are better able to judge the fairness of Medicaid payments, noting that Medicaid benefits are more generous than most private health insurance plans in Illinois.

While he wouldn't want to use federal Medicaid money, say, on state highways, it would help if the states were sent Medicaid in the form of block grants earmarked for health care, he said.

The governor met with Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) and other members of the Illinois congressional delegation. He urged them to push for a speedy turnover of the military's surplus Joliet Arsenal property for local business, residential and recreational development. The sprawling Defense Department complex is being closed.

Edgar also asked the delegation to try to keep Amtrak service alive in Illinois, even if it might mean a new tax.

"I think the voters have shown they're willing to support that as long as it's earmarked for a specific purpose," he said, noting that Wisconsin voters favor a 1-cent-a-gallon gas tax to keep Amtrak running in that state.

Asked whether he favored a proposal to finance high-speed rail service between Chicago and St. Louis with proceeds from a railway gambling car, Edgar frowned on the idea, saying: "Some people think gambling's the answer to everything."

The answer to everything may well be skim milk. Edgar found time to crack open a couple of cartons with Simon and to urge everyone to imbibe it if they want to stay alive.

Edgar, who underwent angioplasty treatment in 1992 and open-heart surgery last summer to unblock clogged arteries, has been pushing voluntary but universal consumption of non-fat skim milk.

Illinois matters: Members of the Illinois delegation were active on two burning issues last week. The proposed constitutional amendment to ban flag burning, which overwhelmingly passed the House, was co-sponsored by Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) but was opposed by North Shore Rep. John Porter, the only Illinois Republican to do so.

"The act of desecrating the American flag is abhorrent in the extreme, an outrage to the sensibilities of patriotic Americans and representative only of the perpetrators' small minds, lack of judgment and ignorance of the history and meaning of our country," Porter said in debate. "But it is not an act that threatens in the least our existence as a nation. Rather, our toleration of it reaffirms our commitment to free speech and to the supremacy of individual expression over governmental power."

Rep. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a candidate for the Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Simon, also took the politically unpopular position of opposing the amendment, for similar reasons.

On safer ground, Durbin introduced an amendment to end federal tobacco subsidies, but it went up in smoke.

- Northwest Indiana's Rep. Steve Buyer met with a delegation of British health authorities to confer on what can be done about a mutual health concern of both countries: the harmful medical effects of the Persian Gulf war on the soldiers who fought it.

Buyer, a Republican, is a veteran of the conflict and a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. He said the appearance of significant symptoms-including memory loss, skin ailments, fatigue and respiratory difficulties-in both countries underscores the reality of the problem.

- Hyde has authored a new book. It's about law enforcement's seizure of private property without due process in cases in which people are accused of crimes. Hyde considers this a violation of constitutional rights and has introduced legislation to curb the practice.